The Philippine factory output recovered last year with both volume and value of production posting double-digit growth versus 2020, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported.

In its Monthly Integrated Survey of Selected Industries (MISSI), the PSA reported Tuesday, Feb. 8, that the country's volume of production index (VoPI) went up by 50.3 percent from January to December last year, a reversal of the 40.5 percent contraction recorded in 2020.

In December alone, VoPI jumped 17.9 percent, recovering from a 14.8 percent decline registered in the same month in the previous year.

However, the December VoPI grew at a much slower pace compared with the 25.8 percent expansion seen last November.

The PSA said the increase in VoPI was brought about by the positive growth rates of 11 industries out of the 22 divisions.

Of them, wood, bamboo, can, rattan articles and related products was the major contributing factor with 122.6 percent growth.

On the contrary, the remaining 11 sectoral clusters recorded decreases led by manufacture of basic pharmaceutical products and pharmaceutical preparations with -58.6 percent annual rate.

Meanwhile, the value of production index (VaPI) from January to December last year, VaPI increased 47 percent from a contraction of 43 percent in 2020.

For the month of December, VAPI posted a 18.6 percent increase although at a much slower pace compared with 27.2 percent in November.

The growth in VaPI was contributed by the increases in 12 of the 22 industry divisions.

Among them, the top contributor was manufacture of wood, bamboo, cane, rattan articles and related products and manufacture of coke and refined petroleum products with 93.6 and 75.1 percent annual growth rates, respectively.

On the other hand, the remaining 10 industry divisions recorded decreases with manufacture of basic pharmaceutical products and pharmaceutical preparations registering the fastest annual decline of -29.5 percent.